Some 24 people are being prosecuted for crimes linked to drug trafficking, the MININT indicated.
MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban authorities claim to have dismantled a synthetic drug trafficking network that, according to their version, operated from Florida (United States) to the Island, with a balance of one million doses of the narcotic known as “chemical” seized and 24 people detained, according to official Cuban media.
The section head of the Specialized Criminal Investigation Body of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), Arnaldo Ramos, declared on state television that the criminal structure “was organized from Florida” and used Cubans residing on the Island to “prepare, distribute and market” the drug.
According to the same report, the narcotics were sent ready for production in Cuba and were managed by local networks that were responsible for expanding their consumption in the domestic market.
Ramos explained that the substance, molded “in the form of a cream,” entered the country through “illegal air freight,” hidden in containers of yogurt, gelatin, food supplements and medications.
The MININT presented this modus operandi as an example of the new routes and techniques used to introduce synthetic drugs into the Island despite official controls.
The “chemical” is described as “a highly addictive synthetic cannabinoid, cheaper and more powerful than marijuana,” whose consumption “has spread in recent years in Cuba, especially among young people,” as MININT officials have publicly acknowledged in different official spaces.
In his speech, Ramos also maintained that “in cases like these, the Cuban authorities have timely informed the US Government about people in that country who try to promote international drug trafficking on Cuban soil, however, the cases remain unanswered.”
The complaint is part of the official line of holding the United States responsible for both the origin of the substances and an alleged lack of practical cooperation, despite the existence of a bilateral anti-drug agreement in force since 2016.
For his part, the section head of the Specialized Anti-Drug Body of the MININT, Yoan Saporta, indicated on national television that the 24 detained people are being prosecuted for crimes linked to drug trafficking as a result of an operation carried out “during 2025.” According to the same report, along with the drugs, syringes, gloves, trays, masks and acetone were seized, the latter identified by the officer as one of the supplies used to manufacture the “chemical.”
In addition to the supplies and the narcotic, the authorities confiscated homes, means of transportation and 11 million Cuban pesos. This sum is equivalent to as specified by EFEat about $91,600 at the official exchange rate for individuals, but only at about $25,000 at the informal market exchange rate, where the national currency has devalued much more pronounced.
The case comes to light just days after senior officials from the MININT and the Ministry of Justice used an unusual press conference in Havana to deny any link between the country and drug trafficking and reaffirm the official doctrine of “zero tolerance.” In that appearance, the officials insisted that Cuba “is not a drug producing or transit country” and stressed that cooperation with the United States is formally based on the bilateral anti-narcotics agreement signed in 2016.
The Cuban Penal Code punishes “possession and trafficking of illicit drugs with penalties ranging from 4 to 30 years in prison, life imprisonment and even the death sentence.” Although the idea of a “preventive” approach is repeated in the official discourse, detailed figures on consumption, seizures and sentences are not published systematically, and most of the available information reaches public opinion through short notes, television reports and summaries from international agencies that reproduce the version of the Cuban State itself.
